1. Acme
9 Great Jones St.
Opened: January 2012
Signature dish: Chicken and eggs ($20)
Highfalutin foodies know Nordic cuisine is where it’s at and, since Acme lays claim to Manhattan’s hottest import, Danish chef and Noma alum Mads Refslund, this moody bistro is packed with genuflecting disciples. You’ll find the same well-coiffed, leather-clad patrons who frequent Jean-Marc Houmard and Jon Neidich’s nearby establishments, Indochine and BondSt, mingling at the slightly bowed, 13-seat bar and lounging in the green leather banquettes.
The chicken and eggs (inset, $20), served in a rustic Crock-Pot, sounds like a playful dish, but it’s no joke: fragrant pieces of chicken, flash-fried whole eggs and hearty fingerling potatoes are enough for at least two and barely leave room for the irresistible beer and bread porridge dessert ($10).

Gabi Porter

Acme's chicken and eggs ($20)

Zandy Mangold

2. Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria
53 Great Jones St.
Opened: October 2011
Signature dish: Crispy artichokes ($12) and porchetta alla romana ($29)
Walking down the pockmarked street, Alimentari e Vineria appears as a provisions store. And it is — the Italian newcomer offers a selection of imported goods, including Amedei chocolate bars and Scalia anchovies. But beyond the counter and down a few stairs, is one of two bustling dining rooms that houses communal tables and a marble bar running the length of the room. The exposed kitchen, helmed by Justin Smillie, turns out fare such as Tuscan kale panini ($13), creamy house-made ricotta ($16) accompanied by juicy beets, tart grapefruit and pistachios, and gnudi ($20).

3. The Wren
334 Bowery
Opened: December 2011
Signature dish: Fish and chips ($16)
Wilfie & Nell pub owners, Mark and Simon Gibson, know the formula for cool: a stylized, clubby hangout that doesn’t feel like it’s trying too hard to be a culinary powerhouse.
In fact, while David Mawhinney has created an eccentric, albeit brief, menu of modern pub picks featuring such things like fish and chips ($16) and cheeseboards (above left, $15 to $17) — it’s Krissy Harris’ cocktail menu that’s meant to be the draw. Formerly with Gramercy Tavern, Harris has created a dozen drinks, accented with ingredients like black-walnut bitters and pink peppercorns. “We want to be the bar people go to before and after they go to the other great [spots] in the neighborhood,” says Mark.

Zandy Mangold

4. Forcella
334 Bowery
Opened: October 2011
Signature dish: The Montanara ($10)
After winning a slew of competitions like the 2010 World Pizza Championship and consulting for more than 20 restaurants across America for the Vera Pizza Napoletana association (VPN), Italian native Giulio Adriani landed in New York to open an expanding empire of Neapolitan pizza joints. The second of his three features glass-blown chandeliers, gleaming white subway tile walls and a mix of Europeans and locals: This is Naples in New York City.
But what truly makes Adriani the piemaster? Pizza crusts “must be fluffy and soft,” he emphasizes. And when they’re fried, as the signature Montanara pizza is, they’re even more billowy.

Imogen Brown

5. Mile End
53 Bond St.
Opening: Tomorrow
Signature dish: Smoked meat ($12) , Hoyt Dog ($7)
For three years, husband and wife team Noah Bernamoff and Rae Cohen have been serving up smoked meat sandwiches at their popular Boerum Hill deli, and now they’re bringing their Jewish cult classics to the mainland. “We were trying to find space in a few neighborhoods,” Bernamoff says of their search that included NoLiTa, the East Village and the Lower East Side, when they happened upon a vacant space that had been a lumber store for 30 years.
“It’s kind of like Boerum Hill,” Bernamoff explains. “It’s this tiny neighborhood that’s surrounded by big hitters.”While their NoHo dining room will be twice the size as their Brooklyn digs, they’ll focus mostly on take-out. “The theme is basically sandwiches,” he says. Expect the deli’s existing hits — beef on weck ($12), chicken salad ($10) — along with new options that will come and go with the season.